20 years of the Heinrich Böll House in Langenbroich: a place of refuge and work
Translated with DeepL.
Original language: Deutsch
The Heinrich Böll House Langenbroich in the North Eifel celebrates its 20th anniversary as a refuge and workspace for artists from all over the world at the beginning of September 2011. It was acquired by the Böll family in the 1960s and occupied mainly in the summer months until the death of Nobel Prize winner Heinrich Böll in 1985.
In the tradition of Heinrich Böll, we support the house's artists' program, which is intended to enable politically oppressed authors to work creatively for a few months undisturbed, without financial worries, free from persecution and censorship.
If possible, the guests take part in readings, discussion events, seminars and exhibitions in which they present their work and provide information about the cultural and political situation in their home countries.
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"In many countries, it is still highly risky to break out of the straitjacket of censorship and self-censorship. When we talk about literature and art, we must also talk about the authors and artists who are locked away in prisons and penal camps or forced into exile. For Heinrich Böll, the freedom of the word was indivisible, and his solidarity was with persecuted artists from all over the world. We are also committed to this tradition," says Ralf Fücks, Chairman of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, explaining the Heinrich Böll Foundation's commitment to Haus Langenbroich.
Since the Heinrich Böll House Langenbroich Association was founded in 1989, over 150 guests from 43 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe have been invited. Most of them are writers, but there are also visual artists and composers. At the same time, the house makes it possible to accommodate relatives of the scholarship holders either permanently or temporarily.
The Heinrich Böll Foundation, the city of Düren and the Heinrich Böll family can look back on 20 years of successful cooperation as sponsors of the house. Our special thanks go to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which supports this work by largely financing the operating costs and the necessary renovations.
On Saturday, September 10, 2011, the annual summer party will take place at the Heinrich Böll House from 2 pm. Former WDR director Fritz Pleitgen will be the keynote speaker. Other guests from Tunisia, Iraq and China will report on their work and the situation in their home countries.